green stuff - FR Golden Demon 2006 Project

[green stuff]

This sprung from one of the discussions I had with Stuart (Medved) and Mike (Dragonsreach) during GD UK 2005. We were saying that usually the regiment or squad categories are kind of neglected and if instead of us trying to match the top painters in the singles categories we tried to do what we can do in the group category than maybe we'd have a chance :P.

At first I thought I might do an Eldar guardian squad with some conversions and a bit of OSL, but the more I'm thinking about it, the blander it sounds.

So I flipped through some codice and thought that an inquisition and his followers would permit both a cohesive yet varied group.

So for those of you who can bare with me, I'd like to post my WIP to get some feedback.

Right now, I'm in the mini picking phase. I'm looking for a spanish inquisition feel (think reds, blacks, and golds) but with a quind of "Comedia de la Arte" twist to it. Here are some of the minis that caught my eyes :

1. The Inquisitor Lord (well Inquisitrice in fact) will be one of the three WitchHunters (only 2 variation shown on the GW site) :

http://fr.games-workshop.com/storefront/newimage.asp?Size=A&Img=252831

2. The Cultists of Parque are definitively going to be in there (but they be getting cloaks) :

http://fr.games-workshop.com/storefront/newimage.asp?Size=A&Img=215441

3. Some sages (without any chainsaw guy) and flying skulls (they be getting braseros and the smoke will fall to the ground so there won't be any ugly rod) :

http://fr.games-workshop.com/storefront/newimage.asp?Size=A&Img=215429

4. Another sage :

http://fr.games-workshop.com/storefront/newimage.asp?Size=B&Img=251542

5. These guys will be acolytes and will be getting tech-gear and cloaks :

http://fr.games-workshop.com/storefront/newimage.asp?Size=B&Img=11777

http://fr.games-workshop.com/storefront/newimage.asp?Size=B&Img=11779

So for now, do you see any mini I should add/change?

I'm also worried about the presentation base. I was thinking about some black marble effect with columns and a red drape backdrop. Is it too much? Not doable? Not a good idea?

Oops, sorry about the pics, something in the URL is making the bbcode do funny things.

[EricJ]

cool idea Cedric, I had a lot of fun when I worked on my inquisitor squad, and keep thinking about doing it again once I've developed a little bit of sculpting ability to make one which is a bit more unique.

I definately think there is a TON of possibilities for someone of your sculpting ability here, and this will be fun to watch develop. Once I get away from work today and can sit down and cozy up with the GW site for a bit I'll see if I can offer any ideas :)

My initial thought is that I personally wouldn't overlook including crusaders. I think if you come up with a very expressive and unique looking inquisitor, it would be set off even more in a display being flanked by armored and almost mechanical type figures.

[green stuff]

First of all, thanks for following this Eric :). And thanks for taking the time to look up GW's catalog ;).

Your right for the crusaders, at first I thought the sword players could be made to look like them but where to put the shield? So I've got some real crusaders hanging around here that should be added to the squad (rules say I can have 3 of each to the total of 12, so there's plenty of room).

I've also been thinking for the presentation base. I'll be making 2 to 3 "tile stamps".

By the way, that conversation I had was before Stuart got his Demon :P.

[EricJ]

A couple thoughts looking around through GW site, don't forget some great models for necromunda & mordheim which have a VERY witchhunter type feel to them and could be converted really nicely!

http://store.us.games-workshop.com/storefront/newimage.asp?Size=C&Img=8765

or

http://store.us.games-workshop.com/storefront/newimage.asp?Size=D&Img=10004

or

http://store.us.games-workshop.com/storefront/newimage.asp?Size=D&Img=9962

are a few that I noticed

[Frustrated Father]

My lack of input isn't a lack of interest - I'm just watching from the sidelines right now as I'm dead curious what you have planned out. I like the idea of having the female inquisitors myself.

[green stuff]

@Eric : Thanks for looking for inspiration material :). Actually, I'll be going for a cleaner and more sinister look. So exit the fanatics for this one :P. But the crusaders will definitively be of the party ;). Clothwise, I'm really into some 15th or 16th century european dresswear. The sword players' puffy sleeves and lots of cloaks will be the reacuring elements I think. The Cultists of Parque will have a lot from Harley (Joker's sidekick) but instead of red they'll be grey ... like a cross with the Crow.

@Nathan : no problem ;). Speaking of the lady inquisitor, I used my now daily train trip to sketch something out. It isn't finished yet but I'm taking more distance from the GW mini I referenced above. It'll probably be a full sculpt in the end.

[EricJ]

ok, got it, good direction, back to looking :)

For crusaders, I think it would look really awesome to have almost a machine/robot look dressed in the finer clothes, not that they make models like that that I know of!

[green stuff]

For crusaders, I think it would look really awesome to have almost a machine/robot look dressed in the finer clothes, not that they make models like that that I know of!
That could be quite promissing and could tie into the fluff (robots were supposed to have walked among men, but then they revolted). The inquisitrice could want there power but need to hide their origine. I like the second degree reading in the idea. Will stick to it, thanks ;).

I think they'll have a techy look but with motifs à la Black Templar to fit into the crusader theme. Oh and measure at least one head more than the other minis.

[EricJ]

watch out, if this keeps up, you'll be sculpting a full 12 figures for the thing :)

Oh, and any thoughts about the Medics/Hospitalar? I actually quite like the GW figure, but I think there is a lot of possibility for this as well.

[green stuff]

watch out, if this keeps up, you'll be sculpting a full 12 figures for the thing :)
I know ... that's why I posted here, so you people can :slap: me when I'm not making progress ;).

Oh, and any thoughts about the Medics/Hospitalar? I actually quite like the GW figure, but I think there is a lot of possibility for this as well.
Oh yes, I love the mini, but I'd like to get here to look like the center character on page 17 of the witch hunter codex.

[Ritual]

I'm with Nathan on this! I'm definitely interested in your project Cédric, but I don't think I'll be much help at this point so I'll just sit back and observe for now. You seem pretty much clear on what you want regarding the assembly of the unit. Once you get started I might be able to contribute something, though. :tea:

[EricJ]

Nathan, Anders, I'll cover for you on unit assembly, I've done these models before and staired long at the range available :)

Great, now I'll have to sit at work curious about what's on page 17 of the codex until I can get home :(

[green stuff]

You seem pretty much clear on what you want regarding the assembly of the unit.
Well I do have a certain idea of what I want to aim to, but I am open to ideas (i.e. Eric's crusaders), so don't hesitate to barge in :).

For instance, the presentation base. I still don't know if I should use a rectangular one, a disc one, or an elliptic one. One of my LGS has really nice wooden ones in different colors. Should I take a black one to keep with the dark atmosphere theme, or a dark brown one to give an impression of richness and reinforce the baroque theme?

[green stuff]

Great, now I'll have to sit at work curious about what's on page 17 of the codex until I can get home :(
The little lady on the right :) :
http://greenstuff.free.fr/img/Figurines/GD/2006/FR/InquisitorRetinu/GWConceptsPage17.jpg
The guy on her left has a few nice elements too. Will have to think about that ;).

[EricJ]

I personally like black in general, however in your case either should work really I would think

Ah yes, that photo, it really is a good concept for the girl, I wish they had used it more on the actual girl

[EricJ]

ok, while we're thinking, another of the conversions from the witchhunters codex I really liked was the sort of small looking opperator with a big moble gun to act as one of the heavy weapon guys in the retinue. I'm not sure I like the legs, but I think there is an idea there that could look good in a squad, maybe a hovering platform or some other means of adding an interesting/unique looking heavy weapon to the mix

[green stuff]

Could be interesting to give it an altar/shrine look with encens burning underneath it (the smoke could be used to do the floating effect). Good idea Eric, thanks :).

*** runs off to find a big gun ***

[EricJ]

haha, I love it, a shrine with a nice plasma cannon sticking out of it

[green stuff]

As I type, this year's rules have been posted for the GD FR. Three things strike me :

1. It's earlier (the 9th of April instead of the end of the month);
2. Full sculpts are not permitted except for the prestige category (equivalent to the Open in UK except GW staff are not allowed);
3. The Paint Master category is no more :(.

Damn, n°2 pisses me the most. It'll just take longer and I'll have to use the hacksaw to get the same result ... :blowup:. N°3 is just too bad because it was fun last year to compete with equivalent minis. They replaced it with a WH40K war scene (on a 20cm*20cm max base). If I say think Matrix 3 and Space Marines vs Necrons does anybody see what I have in mind? I know, I know, not enough time to do it :P.

[EricJ]

hmm, yeah, those rule changes sort of suck. although I think that the rule against 100% sculpted minis is a good one, since some of the work being submitted seemed to be getting a bit far from anythign GW produced (and they do want to drive sales after all)

No paint master does sort of suck :(

I'm not sure a war scene is really all that great, although will be interesting to see if anyone really uses it to the fullest. Although 20x20 doesn't seem very large actually

[green stuff]

Sorry for not having updated in quite some time; I just couldn't get the inquisitor squad to work how I intended it to. I think I'll keep them for the UK.

In the mean while, I've been experimenting other ideas. This is one that I think just about works :

http://greenstuff.free.fr/img/Figurines/GD/2006/FR/DwarfGrandBannerBearer/DwarfGrandBannerBearerFrontWIP1.jpg

http://greenstuff.free.fr/img/Figurines/GD/2006/FR/DwarfGrandBannerBearer/DwarfGrandBannerBearerBackWIP1.jpg

I tried to do two things here :

*) try to make a small mini an eye catcher;
*) work mostly with plastics.

And I must say, I shamelessly stole the idea of the mouse from Edgar ;).

[Frustrated Father]

That should certainly catch some attention. That's a HUGE arsed pole. Man has to have forearms of steel.

:D

Can't wait to see it painted.

[green stuff]

Yeah, I thought it might be a bit over the top, but it was fun putting together. I'll be adding some bolts here and there tonight and tidying up the horse tails on the standard, but if anybody sees something else to add or change, please say so :).

[Malebolgia]

Well, that is really...big! Like the pose and the way he stands on the cannon...but the standard is too big in my opinion. I like the 'over the top' idea...but I think you went a bit too much over the top. I think he will look very cool if you remove the upper part (with the GS pole).
I am looking forward to the painting :)

[green stuff]

Sorry Malebolgia, after having talked with other people, the over the top standard seemed to prevail (I know it won't win anything, but at least it'll be noticed :P).

Sorry also for the blurry front view (after 15 minutes of trying, this is the best I could get :() :
http://greenstuff.free.fr/img/Figurines/GD/2006/FR/DwarfGrandBannerBearer/DwarfGrandBannerBearerFrontWIP3.jpg
http://greenstuff.free.fr/img/Figurines/GD/2006/FR/DwarfGrandBannerBearer/DwarfGrandBannerBearerBackWIP3.jpg

I'm not too sure of how some of the corrosif stains were applied. Some touch-up work might be necessary.

[james sequeira]

looking great are those real metallics

[green stuff]

Thanks James :). No that's NMM. I gave up real metalics over a year ago because I'm too lazy to change my painting water so often :P.

[Ritual]

Cédric, that is some sweet looking NMM! :thumb:

[james sequeira]

fooled me very good
i would love to do a project like this but have alot of warmachine to do and alot more arriving

[Patrick]

HOLY COW!!! That is chock-full of Dwarfy goodness!I love the composition and can't wait to see the finished paint. The cannon looks great!

[green stuff]

Thank you everybody :). The rest of the metallics should be a lot cleaner to contrast with the base and get some story woven into it (like the dwarves retaking one of their long lost fortresses).

@Anders : guess who's technic inspired me ;). There's still some tweeking to do though.

@James : Warmachine can be great for corrosion work and I've seen some pretty cool bases done on the subjet. Howler when you get something started ;).

@Patick : I just chucked in a lot of pieces from the dwarf battalion box :P. There are a lot of interesting bits in the recent version (but those damn face masked break so easily :().

[james sequeira]

there are some cool bases im using the mcveys articles on plaster of paris bases as well as some groundforge ones for my casters

[Celtic Lilly]

My what a big pole you have!

:bootyshak

The cannon looks very nice.

[green stuff]

@CL : ;)

A bit of WIP (not much, but I might have more tonight and I need to redo the gold on the dwarf; it's missing some contrast) :

http://greenstuff.free.fr/img/Figurines/GD/2006/FR/DwarfGrandBannerBearer/DwarfGrandBannerBearerFrontWIP4.jpg
http://greenstuff.free.fr/img/Figurines/GD/2006/FR/DwarfGrandBannerBearer/DwarfGrandBannerBearerBackWIP4.jpg

[green stuff]

I touched up the gold a bit but I'm wondering if I should add something to the cape (dwarvish knot-work?) :

http://greenstuff.free.fr/img/Figurines/GD/2006/FR/DwarfGrandBannerBearer/DwarfGrandBannerBearerFrontWIP5.jpg
http://greenstuff.free.fr/img/Figurines/GD/2006/FR/DwarfGrandBannerBearer/DwarfGrandBannerBearerBackWIP5.jpg

[james sequeira]

the cape is excelent what have you used

[Frustrated Father]

Love the cannon and the cape, not so sure about the blue, but I'll hold off comment on that until I see a bit more.

[green stuff]

the cape is excelent what have you used
In this order and with transition colors between each mix : scorched brown, purple wash, scab red, blood red, blood angels red, fiery orange, golden yellow, sunburst yellow, and red glaze to desaturize the colors.

@Nathan : What seems wrong with the blue? Too shiney? Wrong highlights? Doesn't go with the border colors?

[Frustrated Father]

Might be the border colors and the green whatever it is on the side there. Just doesn't sell me at this point, but we're early in the wip.

[james sequeira]

thanks alot keep them coming

[Ritual]

This is starting to look really promising! It's a bit early to tell for sure, since so much of the dwarf is still unpainted, but I bet it will be a striking piece!

[green stuff]

This might help to see where I'm trying to head :

http://greenstuff.free.fr/img/Figurines/GD/2006/FR/DwarfGrandBannerBearer/DwarfGrandBannerBearerFrontWIP6.jpg
http://greenstuff.free.fr/img/Figurines/GD/2006/FR/DwarfGrandBannerBearer/DwarfGrandBannerBearerBackWIP6.jpg

At this point, the banner is more or less finished. So I think I'll focalize on the dwarf himself now.

@Nathan : the green thing is a pouch tucked under his beard. I'm planning on making him a red head with strands of grey/white hair so I needed a contrast color and blue was already taken. I also wanted to make the book cover green, so I added the pouch in the color theme.

[james sequeira]

what a legand
you have inspired me to do a wip thread not that anyone would be intertested in an amature lol got a really cool classic gw wood elf from my boss properly use that

[green stuff]

Glad this thread was of some use ;).

Since you're going to use a hard to come by mini, I think you should take the time to think how you are going to integrate it with the base. Have it tell a story, or use the base to focus the viewer on the mini. I'll look forward to seeing what you make of it ;).

[james sequeira]

i am going to do the miniature and the base separtly the base is a tough choice

[Frustrated Father]

Love the cannon outright and the golds and the book on the banner standard. Still not 'sold' on the green I'll admit, but I think once all the colors start to come together that it'll make more sense for me and I'll enjoy it more.

:D

[green stuff]

I think I'll have everything covered with paint tonight and will be adding the final touches and doing some clean up during the week :

http://greenstuff.free.fr/img/Figurines/GD/2006/FR/DwarfGrandBannerBearer/DwarfGrandBannerBearerFrontWIP7.jpg
http://greenstuff.free.fr/img/Figurines/GD/2006/FR/DwarfGrandBannerBearer/DwarfGrandBannerBearerBackWIP7.jpg

[Ritual]

This looks awesome, Cédric! :thumb:

[EricJ]

definately looking pretty darn good!